Comments (11)

Whether one agreed or disagreed with him this was a man who argued coherently for his beliefs. One of his most famous saying was that "politicians are either sign posts or weather vanes." Some of the greatest politicians, of all political hues, have been those who had a vision of how things should be and who were consistent in arguing their principles. Currently we have too many politicians who spin around like weather vanes trying to get the right sound bite and constantly courting short term populism.

Whether one agreed or disagreed with him this was a man who argued coherently for his beliefs. One of his most famous saying was that "politicians are either sign posts or weather vanes." Some of the greatest politicians, of all political hues, have been those who had a vision of how things should be and who were consistent in arguing their principles. Currently we have too many politicians who spin around like weather vanes trying to get the right sound bite and constantly courting short term populism.express_a_view

There's no denying he stuck to his principles... it's just that his principles were so warped and misguided they led him to support and defend terrorists, rapists and genocidal dictators.

As Labour's own Gerald Kaufman famously once said:

"Tony Benn is described as a politican by those who have never met him"

There's no denying he stuck to his principles... it's just that his principles were so warped and misguided they led him to support and defend terrorists, rapists and genocidal dictators.
As Labour's own Gerald Kaufman famously once said:
[quote]
"Tony Benn is described as a politican by those who have never met him"
[/quote]ChannelX

ChannelX wrote:
There's no denying he stuck to his principles... it's just that his principles were so warped and misguided they led him to support and defend terrorists, rapists and genocidal dictators. As Labour's own Gerald Kaufman famously once said:

&quot;Tony Benn is described as a politican by those who have never met him"

Ah Gerald Kaufman

Kaufman was involved in the 2009 UK parliamentary expenses scandal, where a number of British MPs made excessive expense claims, misusing their permitted allowances and expense accounts.

Kaufman was found to have claimed £115,109 in additional costs allowances on his London flat between 2001 and 2008, and submitted a claim for three months' expenses totalling £14,301.60 in June 2006, which included £8,865 for a 40-inch LCD television and £1,461.83 for a luxury rug imported from New York City (plus £389.91 in customs expenses), which violated regulations forbidding claims for luxury furnishings. He blamed his self-diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder for his claims, and also said that his condition led him to purchase a pair of Waterford Crystal grapefruit bowls on his parliamentary expenses. Between 2005 and 2007, Kaufman claimed £28,834 for home improvements. He was subsequently summoned to the Parliamentary Fees Office to explain these claims, and in the end was paid £15,329. He also claimed £1,262 for a gas bill that was £1,055 in credit. His claims for food between 2004 and June 2008 were £19,200, close to the maximum allowed. He was also challenged over regular claims for "odd jobs", which he submitted without receipts at a rate of £245 per month, then £5 below the limit for unreceipted expenses, to which he replied by asking why these expenses were being queried.

What an honourable man he is.

[quote][p][bold]ChannelX[/bold] wrote:
There's no denying he stuck to his principles... it's just that his principles were so warped and misguided they led him to support and defend terrorists, rapists and genocidal dictators. As Labour's own Gerald Kaufman famously once said: [quote] "Tony Benn is described as a politican by those who have never met him" [/quote][/p][/quote]Ah Gerald Kaufman
Kaufman was involved in the 2009 UK parliamentary expenses scandal, where a number of British MPs made excessive expense claims, misusing their permitted allowances and expense accounts.
Kaufman was found to have claimed £115,109 in additional costs allowances on his London flat between 2001 and 2008, and submitted a claim for three months' expenses totalling £14,301.60 in June 2006, which included £8,865 for a 40-inch LCD television and £1,461.83 for a luxury rug imported from New York City (plus £389.91 in customs expenses), which violated regulations forbidding claims for luxury furnishings. He blamed his self-diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder for his claims, and also said that his condition led him to purchase a pair of Waterford Crystal grapefruit bowls on his parliamentary expenses.[9] Between 2005 and 2007, Kaufman claimed £28,834 for home improvements. He was subsequently summoned to the Parliamentary Fees Office to explain these claims, and in the end was paid £15,329. He also claimed £1,262 for a gas bill that was £1,055 in credit. His claims for food between 2004 and June 2008 were £19,200, close to the maximum allowed. He was also challenged over regular claims for "odd jobs", which he submitted without receipts at a rate of £245 per month, then £5 below the limit for unreceipted expenses, to which he replied by asking why these expenses were being queried.
What an honourable man he is.The Real Librarian

Tony Benn was a man of principals , he knew what he believed in & stuck to his views .Agree with him or not , we need polititions like him today who are not swayed by the tide of popular opinion . Along with Maggie we have lost two great political figures (on either side of the spectrum) .
Is it any wonder we are now a lost nation .

Tony Benn was a man of principals , he knew what he believed in & stuck to his views .Agree with him or not , we need polititions like him today who are not swayed by the tide of popular opinion . Along with Maggie we have lost two great political figures (on either side of the spectrum) .
Is it any wonder we are now a lost nation .SAM2WIN

Never mind the politics, as MP for Bristol he would have gone back and forth along the Bristol-Paddington mainline countless times, and he recalled doing that! And he made many speeches here! He's practically a Swindonian, and if he'd been born here or lived here, he would have been. It's not every former politician you can say that about. We should dedicate a piece of town centre street art to him in honour of his memories of travelling through our town.

Never mind the politics, as MP for Bristol he would have gone back and forth along the Bristol-Paddington mainline countless times, and he recalled doing that! And he made many speeches here! He's practically a Swindonian, and if he'd been born here or lived here, he would have been. It's not every former politician you can say that about. We should dedicate a piece of town centre street art to him in honour of his memories of travelling through our town.Hmmmf

SAM2WIN wrote:
Tony Benn was a man of principals , he knew what he believed in &amp; stuck to his views .Agree with him or not , we need polititions like him today who are not swayed by the tide of popular opinion . Along with Maggie we have lost two great political figures (on either side of the spectrum) .
Is it any wonder we are now a lost nation .

[quote][p][bold]SAM2WIN[/bold] wrote:
Tony Benn was a man of principals , he knew what he believed in & stuck to his views .Agree with him or not , we need polititions like him today who are not swayed by the tide of popular opinion . Along with Maggie we have lost two great political figures (on either side of the spectrum) .
Is it any wonder we are now a lost nation .[/p][/quote]Ah yes, Maggie - another one who supported genocidal dictators.. remember Augusto Pinochet?ChаnnelX

ChannelX wrote:
There's no denying he stuck to his principles... it's just that his principles were so warped and misguided they led him to support and defend terrorists, rapists and genocidal dictators. As Labour's own Gerald Kaufman famously once said:

&quot;Tony Benn is described as a politican by those who have never met him"

Ah Gerald Kaufman

Kaufman was involved in the 2009 UK parliamentary expenses scandal, where a number of British MPs made excessive expense claims, misusing their permitted allowances and expense accounts.

Kaufman was found to have claimed £115,109 in additional costs allowances on his London flat between 2001 and 2008, and submitted a claim for three months' expenses totalling £14,301.60 in June 2006, which included £8,865 for a 40-inch LCD television and £1,461.83 for a luxury rug imported from New York City (plus £389.91 in customs expenses), which violated regulations forbidding claims for luxury furnishings. He blamed his self-diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder for his claims, and also said that his condition led him to purchase a pair of Waterford Crystal grapefruit bowls on his parliamentary expenses. Between 2005 and 2007, Kaufman claimed £28,834 for home improvements. He was subsequently summoned to the Parliamentary Fees Office to explain these claims, and in the end was paid £15,329. He also claimed £1,262 for a gas bill that was £1,055 in credit. His claims for food between 2004 and June 2008 were £19,200, close to the maximum allowed. He was also challenged over regular claims for "odd jobs", which he submitted without receipts at a rate of £245 per month, then £5 below the limit for unreceipted expenses, to which he replied by asking why these expenses were being queried.

What an honourable man he is.

Absolutely, like most left-wingers - nasty people dressing up their nastiness with a sneering veneer of 'caring'.

At least Kaufman didn't attempt to excuse, defend and support rapists.

[quote][p][bold]The Real Librarian[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]ChannelX[/bold] wrote:
There's no denying he stuck to his principles... it's just that his principles were so warped and misguided they led him to support and defend terrorists, rapists and genocidal dictators. As Labour's own Gerald Kaufman famously once said: [quote] "Tony Benn is described as a politican by those who have never met him" [/quote][/p][/quote]Ah Gerald Kaufman
Kaufman was involved in the 2009 UK parliamentary expenses scandal, where a number of British MPs made excessive expense claims, misusing their permitted allowances and expense accounts.
Kaufman was found to have claimed £115,109 in additional costs allowances on his London flat between 2001 and 2008, and submitted a claim for three months' expenses totalling £14,301.60 in June 2006, which included £8,865 for a 40-inch LCD television and £1,461.83 for a luxury rug imported from New York City (plus £389.91 in customs expenses), which violated regulations forbidding claims for luxury furnishings. He blamed his self-diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder for his claims, and also said that his condition led him to purchase a pair of Waterford Crystal grapefruit bowls on his parliamentary expenses.[9] Between 2005 and 2007, Kaufman claimed £28,834 for home improvements. He was subsequently summoned to the Parliamentary Fees Office to explain these claims, and in the end was paid £15,329. He also claimed £1,262 for a gas bill that was £1,055 in credit. His claims for food between 2004 and June 2008 were £19,200, close to the maximum allowed. He was also challenged over regular claims for "odd jobs", which he submitted without receipts at a rate of £245 per month, then £5 below the limit for unreceipted expenses, to which he replied by asking why these expenses were being queried.
What an honourable man he is.[/p][/quote]Absolutely, like most left-wingers - nasty people dressing up their nastiness with a sneering veneer of 'caring'.
At least Kaufman didn't attempt to excuse, defend and support rapists.ChannelX

SAM2WIN wrote:
Tony Benn was a man of principals , he knew what he believed in &amp; stuck to his views .Agree with him or not , we need polititions like him today who are not swayed by the tide of popular opinion . Along with Maggie we have lost two great political figures (on either side of the spectrum) .
Is it any wonder we are now a lost nation .

Clearly you have forgotten that we live in democracy so politicians should indeed be swayed by the majority. Sadly he was just another arrogant politician who didn't care about democracy, just their own narrow view on life and abused their position to spout about it.

As for thatcher, she destroyed job security and any sort of long term view from businesses, it's all about profit today and sod tomorrow and giving a meaningful service or building working relationships it's all greed is good. And those businesses who try to care are few and far between as they can't compete with the stack em high sell em cheap brigade. Not 2 people who have helped this country, quite the opposite!

[quote][p][bold]SAM2WIN[/bold] wrote:
Tony Benn was a man of principals , he knew what he believed in & stuck to his views .Agree with him or not , we need polititions like him today who are not swayed by the tide of popular opinion . Along with Maggie we have lost two great political figures (on either side of the spectrum) .
Is it any wonder we are now a lost nation .[/p][/quote]Clearly you have forgotten that we live in democracy so politicians should indeed be swayed by the majority. Sadly he was just another arrogant politician who didn't care about democracy, just their own narrow view on life and abused their position to spout about it.
As for thatcher, she destroyed job security and any sort of long term view from businesses, it's all about profit today and sod tomorrow and giving a meaningful service or building working relationships it's all greed is good. And those businesses who try to care are few and far between as they can't compete with the stack em high sell em cheap brigade. Not 2 people who have helped this country, quite the opposite!house on the hill